2021: A Year in Review

I’ve written a Year in Review every year since having this blog, even though I haven’t been as active here since moving back to the US in 2018.

I never thought I would have a year as nightmarish as 2021. Now that some time has passed, I feel like I can write about it and want to continue the tradition. As always, I include links to the posts about our various trips.

I started out January by quitting my job. I was 16 weeks pregnant after 4 very difficult years of infertility and IVF, and was struggling with nausea too much to keep working.

On February 2nd, we found out we were having a little boy. The week that followed was one of the best of my life. A fun gender reveal with my family, baby shopping for the first time, and daydreaming about names and nursery decorations.

After one week of happiness, he died.

My water broke prematurely. He passed away on the 10th and was born February 11th.

The next few months, especially March and April, were so dark and terrible.

We did have the chance to go on a lovely trip to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia at the end of March. I was thankful for the distraction and the chance to see some very beautiful places.

On May 3rd, we felt some hope as we transferred another precious embryo. It worked and I spent the rest of the year growing our baby.

In June, we drove to Indiana to bring home a tiny, fluffy ball of energy: Poppy the Westie. She was as crazy as she was adorable, but she really helped me get through a sad and stressful time in my life.

We found out our baby was a girl at the end of July and right away named her Magnolia after a beautiful place we visited near Charleston, SC.

In August I held my breath all month and hardly moved as I reached and eventually made it past the point of my previous loss.

In September we celebrated our 5th anniversary and took some pictures to commemorate the occasion!

In October we traveled to nearby Door County for the first time. It was so good to get out and see some new things after spending the whole summer taking it easy and trying to keep our baby safe. David also achieved his longtime dream of becoming an American citizen this month!

In November I had a baby shower- a surreal experience. People were so generous and it was a happy day.

In December I ended up in the hospital 4 times. Twice for bleeding and preterm labor, once for reduced movement, and then...

On December 30th, our amazing, precious, beautiful, perfect daughter Magnolia June was born at 11:04am. 

It was a year of the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. I had two babies. I buried a child, made it through a very stressful pregnancy, and finally welcomed a healthy baby after years of struggling.

Magnolia’s due date was actually January 19th. I like to think it was a special little blessing for me that she was born at the very end of 2021. 

Our first IVF cycle resulted in an early miscarriage. That baby was due April 15th, 2021. Our stillborn son was supposed to be born on June 21st, 2021 but was born on February 11th, 2021. 

Through a series of miracles, I ended up surviving way more than I thought I could... and even ended up bringing home my 2021 baby after all. 

Past Years in Review:

2020 (Quarantine, Mississippi River road trip, IVF)

2019 (Polar Vortex, turned 30, Seattle trip, David's parents visit, Mackinac Island, road trips)
2018 (Poland, Sicily, moving back to America, Hawaii, buying a house)

2017 (Paris three times, Milan, Bruges, Italian Riviera, Carcassonne, London, Geneva, Florence, Venice, beach, Provence, Naples, Denmark, Cinque Terre, David gets a green card! phew)

2016 (Israel, moved back to US, got engaged, got married, moved to France, Paris, Provence, London)

2015 (Living in Israel, David visits, parents visit, 2 trips to France)

2014 (Living in France, Brussels, Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna, Prague, meeting David, Switzerland, Paris moved home, moved to Israel)

2013 (Jerusalem study abroad, moved to France, Rome, Florence, Siena, Luxembourg)